


KISS FROM A ROSE

by MagicalBeanie



Category: Batman and the Signal (Comics), DCU (Comics), Nightwing (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Gen, Mention of Death, Mention of injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 00:34:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29144526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicalBeanie/pseuds/MagicalBeanie
Summary: A collection of moments where flaws are met with affection
Relationships: Damian Wayne/Reader, Damian Wayne/You, Dick Grayson/Reader, Dick Grayson/You, Duke Thomas/ Reader, Duke Thomas/You, Jason Todd/Reader, Jason Todd/You, Tim Drake/Reader, Tim Drake/You
Kudos: 43





	1. Dick Grayson

You’re not entirely sure what brought on his sudden desire to join your early morning workaholic whims.

You knew he was tired, he knew he was tired, but he pushed on and joined you as you let yourself catch up to the work you had on your laptop, with paperwork strewn all over the floor while your laptop stuck true to its name on your lap.

It was an odd early morning habit you had but it worked for you.

When he caught himself falling asleep for the fifth time, you slowly put down your laptop, and went to sit next to him. The faint shade of red on his cheeks was adorable, but the apologetic look in his eyes confused you.

“You’re tired.” You stated matter-of-factly.

“A little? I’m sorry, I’ll get some coffee and then-” He made to stand up but you stopped him, and grabbed his hand.

“We both know you’re too tired to be staying up with me right now, what’s wrong?” You had known something was wrong the minute he offered, but you figured he’d eventually tell you, but he hadn’t.

Dick heaved a defeated sigh. “I just- I’m never home lately and I don’t get to see you. I don’t want you to think that I’m not aware of how busy this week has been and how I’ve seen you for all of five minutes.”

He was feeling guilty.

Understandable and endearing, but you could never hold against him what he did for his city, and sometimes the world. You had known as soon as you found out about his alter ego what you were getting into, and you loved him all the same. You didn’t want him to think he had to sacrifice the few hours of rest he had to prove his love to you. He did that every day.

You gently grabbed his face and pressed your lips to his cheek.

A silent language of reassurance between the two of you that had been forged in the early days of your relationship.

“How about we both go back to bed?” You offered with a smile.

He looked pointedly at your unfinished work and back at you. A laugh escaped your lips.

“I can finish it later, let me go put these papers away and I’ll join you in bed and we can sleep, okay?” You didn’t give him an opportunity to answer as you stood up, grabbed your papers and your laptop and moved them to your desk.

He watched you walk away with a look of pure adoration and love in his eyes.


	2. Jason Todd

He knew you were going to be upset.

Jason knew you hated it when he came home injured beyond what you could do to help him.

So when Alfred had to make the call to summon you to the Batcave, he knew he was in for an earful.

And sure enough, when you walked in and saw his injured state, the worried look in your eyes intensified and you had that frown that always formed right before you chastised him for being reckless.

He slowly tried to ease himself up on the bed, but one look from both you and Alfred was enough to convince him that dying once had been bad enough. He didn’t want to risk it again with either of you.

You folded your arms, and looked at him expectantly.

“I know. I know you’re upset but this time, I swear there’s a valid reason.” He started.

You raised an eyebrow skeptically. He had used that one before.

“There was a kid. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and there was a stray bullet coming right at him. So I- I didn’t think. I just- I couldn’t let him- ” He couldn’t finish his sentence, and you didn’t need him to.

You knew how sensitive the topic was to him. Your face softened as you remembered when he’d told you the story of how he had come to be the Red Hood. It seemed natural that in that moment, he’d seen himself in that child.

Alfred silently excused himself, sensing an impending private moment between the two of you.

You slowly walked towards Jason, joining him on the bed. He pulled you closer to him, a habit he had whenever you were physically close to him.

You turned to him, slowly brushing the hair away from his face. “I understand. I wouldn’t expect you to be anything other than as selfless as you were in that moment, considering the circumstances. I hope you’re not in too much pain.”

He gave you a relieved, albeit slightly dazed smile. The medicine was starting to kick in, leaving him drowsy. “Tis but a scratch.”

You slapped him lightly on the shoulder. Only Jason would find the time to quote Monty Python at you when he was injured. “You’re awful, Todd.”

He winked at you in response. “Awfully attractive.”

You sighed in defeat.

He made himself comfortable on your chest, despite it not being a good position in his current state. You decided against pointing this out, and gave him the comfort he was silently asking for.

You grabbed his hand, and laid a gentle kiss on his palm.

You received one of your own in response, before Jason let the medication and the comfort of your warmth lull him to sleep.


	3. Tim Drake

You could tell when he was having a particularly bad day because of a mission, but even more so when it was personal.

Today seemed to one of those personal days. You had noticed Tim’s behaviour change slightly during the week. He had been working himself a lot harder, taking fewer breaks and sleeping less.

When you saw the date, you realised why. The anniversary of his dad’s death always hit him particularly hard.

The anniversary of his mother’s death was always a painful one, but it was at least softened by the bitter, melancholic consolation that at least it had been a quick one.

His father on the other hand, had survived, and their relationship had finally been one of a father and son, and was on its way to being a strong one before tragedy struck him again.

At a time when he should’ve been able to stop it. At a time when he should’ve done something before his lost his only remaining family.

You knew all of this because he had communicated these thoughts and feelings the first time he opened up to you about why his father’s death was always the hardest to deal with.

You knew you’d have to reassure him with your words and convince him to not take big cases in order to fill the guilt-ridden need to compensate for what he considered one of his biggest failures.

At that moment, all he needed was to know he was not alone, a reminder that he was loved and he could freely express his pain without feeling weak.

You had to gently pry him away from his desk, where he’d sat and forced himself to go over cases and pore over every little detail for hours on end.

“You don’t have to punish yourself, you know.” You told him as you led him to the bed. He didn’t respond. Mostly because you knew he didn’t agree with you.

He didn’t have to. You weren’t going to allow himself to sink into the guilt and self-loathing he had gone through before he met you. He didn’t have to feel alone anymore.

Tim would never be able to put into words how much he appreciated the time you always took to know what was wrong with him and knowing how to comfort him without him saying anything.

Despite the darkness of his thoughts, you were always there to shine a light and lead him out of them before he lost himself in guilt.

He allowed himself to feel, to be sad, to be angry and to mourn. The freedom he only felt whenever he was with you, especially during these times.

He felt the prick of tears in his eyes, but instead of stopping them, he let them flow freely, allowing himself the cathartic release he usually denied himself.

You held him as he cried, and pressed your lips to his forehead.

He held you closer to him, the feeling of safety enveloping him and somewhat softening the pain in his heart.


	4. Damian Wayne

The loud crash was what woke you up.

Being part of a family of vigilantes meant you’d mastered the art of being a light sleeper. In fact you all collectively had a complicated relationship with rest and sleep.

Especially when it came to nightmares.

The horrors you had all witnessed as part of your crusade against crime sometimes kept you awake at night, other times it followed you to your dreams.

Therefore you could only imagine what horrors Damian had to have seen, given the life he had to live while he was with the League of Assassins.

He had confessed to you one night that once he’d learned the truth of what he had been taught, it made him look at himself differently. Sometimes he would be the monster in his dreams.

As you made your way into his room, you knew it was one of those nights again. Nights where his previous deeds haunted him somewhere he could never escape them: his mind.

You cautiously opened the door, making your movements quiet but loud enough that he would know it was you. He was already startled, you didn’t need to make it worse.

You walked around the mess on the floor, and found him shaking, holding himself on the floor beside his bed and the sight broke your heart.

It was moments like these when you were reminded of just how young he was. Tears made their way down his face in rebellion despite how hard the expression on his face was working to keep them at bay.

“Damian? Dami?” You had to approach him carefully, it was moments like these when he didn’t trust himself.

You were about to sit next to him when he shuffled away from you. “Stay away. Monster. Hurt you.” His words were broken into the sobs he could no longer contain.

You slowly moved closer to him, despite his weak protests and wrapped an arm around him. It didn’t take long before the need for comfort outweighed the revulsion he felt and he allowed himself to be encompassed in your warmth and affection. You held him tightly as he sobbed.

“You’re not a monster Dami. Not at all, okay?” You rocked him slightly in a repetitive motion, until you could feel his body gradually loosen up, meaning he was starting to calm down from the heavy crying.

You helped him back on his bed, never leaving his side. It was when he insisted he would be fine that you were sure you could leave.

You gave him a long hug, followed by a kiss to the top of his head.

Something that always made him feel better no matter how bad his nightmares would get.

It always reassured him that no matter what, you would always be there for him. You whispered a good night to him before quietly closing the door and going back to sleep.


	5. Duke Thomas

Confusion was the first thing you felt when you opened the door.

Duke’s room was a mess. Which was saying something considering he wasn’t exactly a messy individual.

When you did eventually find him, you saw that he was so lost in what he was looking for that he hadn’t even noticed you were there.

When he did finally spot you, you waved happily from where you were standing. He ran a hand down his face.

“I did it again, didn’t I?” His whole body was slouched over, and he looked tired.

“Yes, but it’s all right. I can see that you’re a little.. occupied. What are you looking for anyway?” You walked towards him and gave him a hug, which he returned enthusiastically.

“I was working on some cases, and I put a file away for future reference and now I have no idea where it is. All these powers and I can’t find a simple manila folder. If that ain’t embarrassing then I don’t know what is.” He threw himself on the nearest chair and sighed heavily.

“Duke, honey, you gave that to me three days ago. You asked me to look over it for you and check for any potential patterns in the crimes and locations. That’s why I’m here today.” You couldn’t help but laugh a little as you took the file out of your messenger bag.

Duke sighed again and muttered incoherently about stupidity under his breath.

You could tell he hadn’t slept properly in a while, the bags under his eyes and his uncharacteristically unkempt hair was a major indicator of this fact, as well the state his room had fallen into.

Telling him you could go through the information you found later, you helped him clean up his room so it looked presentable.

It was relatively easy, the majority of the mess being a lot of paperwork and coffee mugs which you were sure Alfred would not be pleased about.

Once you were done, you convinced him to take a break. He clearly needed rest, or he wouldn’t be able to do his job properly when he was needed in the field. He agreed on the condition that he wanted to fix his hair first. Resisting the urge to roll your eyes, you let him.

Duke was always a little too hard on himself, you put it down to the need to prove his worth and his place in the vigilante world.

He’d admitted to you that he’d initially felt quite out of place, feeling like there were already enough “bat-people”, as he put it.

You’d convinced him that if that had been the case, he wouldn’t have been part of the team at all, that Batman would not have recruited him if he felt he didn’t need his help.

He couldn’t argue with your logic. You sat him down and offered him a massage once you noticed how tense he was. You worked your way through his shoulders and his neck, loosening the tension that was stored there.

You could feel his body relax under your ministrations, and once you were done you were going to get the file for you to look through when he insisted on the two of you just relaxing for a little while.

Not one to say no to just spending time with him, you agreed and sat back down as he lay his head on your lap. 

You surprised him with a kiss to his temple.

He looked up at you with a warm smile, a silent thank you, as the both of you enjoyed the brief moment of peace before you had to go back to reality.


End file.
